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All photos are between: January 28, 2004 - (our closing date) and September 26, 2005 (our couldn't take anymore date) - bidding our builder, Ryland Homes, good riddance by officially kicking them out of our construction site of a house (21 months later).

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September 05, 2007

Brevard County, FL.-"The developer building private housing for Air Force personnel on the barrier island has burned its public partners - the taxpayers of Brevard Countyand, especially, Satellite Beach. The planned 552-home Pelican Coast development is owned and operated by a for-profit corporation that includes the Air Force as a 'minority investment member.' And it was meant to pay property taxes to the county and Satellite Beach in return for the police, teachers, firefightersand road…At least, that's what the Air Force intended when it gave the developer rights to 171 acres of public land worth $70 million…And that's what the city expected when it hired more cops, waived $1 million in permit feesand sacrificed oceanfront development rights elsewhere to increase the number of lucrative home sites at Pelican Coast…without notifying the Air Force or the city, an attorney for Dallas-based developer Patrick Family Housing LLC quietly sought - and won - a tax exemption from the county property appraiser,...The county had no public hearing and did not notify the city or the Air Force. Now, taxpayers from other neighborhoods must bankroll the services to the development, while the corporation enjoys a built-in profit from a 50-year deal and avoids paying about $1.4 million a year in taxes…the city sent a letter of protest to Kathryn Thompson, head of Patrick Family Housing in Texas. City council members learned of the tax exemption at a budget workshop Tuesday only after a local Pelican Coast project manager mentioned it in passing to staff at city hall. 'To say the city was surprised upon learning of this event would be a gross understatement;' the letter from City Manager Michael Crotty reads. 'It is totally contrary to the actions of all parties regarding the efforts to privatize and annex this property into the city.'…James Spoonhour, the attorney for Patrick Family Housing, said the tax-free status has become the norm for military privatization projects across the country. 'They've all got tax exemptions,'…Among the incentives Satellite Beach offered Patrick Family Housing LLC to persuade it to join the city: Waiving more than $1 million in building fees. Hiring additional police officers and building inspectors. Offering higher building density than the county would allow,…the city's costs of hiring six firefighters and four police officers to serve the growth amount to about 7 percent of its proposed general fund budget of about $8.9 million. The lost taxes and permit fees will cost another $645,000, or about 6.5 percent of its potential budget. Brevard County will forfeit $253,643 per year in taxes. The school district loses $557,000, enough to pay more than a dozen teachers. Still, the project is a great deal for the federal government,…because the Air Force could get the land back at the end of the 50-year lease term…Florida Today and the city of Satellite Beach separately filed public-records requests for Patrick Family Housing's application for the tax exemption. The county appraiser's office denied the release, saying the application is secret, or exempt from state public-disclosure laws."…
8/21/06

August 22, 2007

San Antonio, CA.-"So where exactly does San Antonio end? With commuters making the daily trek from once-rural towns including Boerne and New Braunfels, and population and job growth fueling an 18,000-homes-per-year building frenzy, San Antonio's housing boom is redefining what's urban, suburban and country. Call us Sprawlantonio... 'It's the sprawl effect,' said Jim Gaines, research economist with Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center. 'San Antonio is bumping into the southern part of Austin, with San Marcos caught in between.'...The phenomenon is happening all over Texas, with most of the state's new-home development happening outside the limits of major cities and far from downtown centers... For builders, the lack of city regulation in suburban areas also makes it slightly more affordable to build there. 'The county doesn't have rules and regulations like the tree ordinance that the builder has to live by,' said Becky Oliver with the Greater San Antonio Builders Association. 'That's what encourages the developers to go outside the city.'... 'It saves you the fees and the hassles of dealing with the permitting authorities,' Gaines said. 'It means a lot of the new-home construction is being kind of directed on purpose outside of the city.'"...
Web Posted: 08/04/2006 06:06 PM CDT

August 21, 2007

Encinitas, CA.-"The city and builder Barratt American (BDEV) have settled two lawsuits that date to 2000 over development-related fees. Neither side had to pay damages or attorney fees to the other. City Manager Kerry Miller said yesterday the settlement was a good deal for Encinitas because developers need to pay their fair share of the public costs of their projects...Carlsbad-based Barratt American first sued the city in 2000, alleging that it overcharged the builder $500,000 in development fees. Before that lawsuit was resolved, Barratt American filed a second suit in June this year after the city raised its development fees...the city agreed to reduce fees charged on repeated building plan checks for tract homes and to consult Barratt American on future fee increases."...
August 3, 2006

March 15, 2007

Napa,CA. -"Barry Cromartie, American Canyon's planning director for about a year, is no longer a city employee. 'Barry is no longer with the city as of yesterday at the close of business day,' Interim City Manager Dayle Keller confirmed Wednesday. She declined to further comment on the planning director's departure...Vice Mayor Leon Garcia declined to discuss the matter and Mayor Cecil Shaver could not be reached for comment. Planning Commission Chairwoman Chelle Castagnola on Wednesday said she did not know Cromartie was gone. 'I'm shocked,' Castagnola said. Cromartie has been 'very supportive' of her and had done a 'good job,' she said... Cromartie's departure comes a week before the City Council discusses fees developers pay in American Canyon in lieu of building affordable housing units, where the median price of a house in 2005 was $634,090.
Cromartie recommended in June to increase the fee residential developers pay instead of building affordable housing units from $3,000 a unit to $38,778 a unit - a 1,292-percent increase. Cromartie also recommended a $2-per-square-foot fee on new non-residential developments. Stravinsky Development Group of Madera has opposed the new non-residential fee, saying it is too high and will steer development away from American Canyon."...
Thursday, July 13, 2006

February 21, 2007

Washington County, PA. -"A builders' representative tried to dampen enthusiasm Tuesday for a proposed ordinance that would require sprinkler systems in some single-family houses in North Strabane. The ordinance would require a residential sprinkler suppression system that would apply to all single-family houses with 25 feet or less side yard clearance. It would call for inspection of the systems every two years. But James M. Eichenlaub, director of government affairs for the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh...told township supervisors that sprinkler systems were costly and that there was no justification in single-family houses that far apart...Mr. Eichenlaub said...questioned the township's rationale in requiring sprinkler systems, which, he said, can add from $3,500 to $5,000 to the cost of a house. How do you put a cost on life, township Manager Frank Siffrinn asked...Mr. Eichenlaub said builders, including Ryan Homes (NVR), Heartland Homes, The Meritage Group and Maronda Homes, asked him to comment on their behalf. Dave Woltz, project manager for Ryan, stood up at the meeting to say he supported Mr. Eichenlaub's comments."...
Sunday, June 25, 2006

February 15, 2007

Escondido,CA. -"Developer Barratt American Inc. (BDEV) is suing the city for increasing building and plan-checking fees, even as a related case remains unresolved...The city's fees are at about the midpoint of those charged by other cities in the region...In a related lawsuit, lawyers for the Carlsbad-based builder have argued that Encinitas charges more in fees than it spends to provide the inspection services...The high court ruled that Barratt was not entitled to refunds of fees that it had paid and that Rancho Cucamonga would not be required to audit its fee receipts to determine if revenue exceeded the cost of providing the service. Barratt could proceed, however, with its challenge of the ordinance that set the fees originally, the court ruled...Jeffrey Dunn, the attorney who represented Encinitas in the case, said Monday that the high court has sent Barratt's challenge of Encinitas' fees back to the Superior Court, where he would argue for dismissal at a September hearing...In December, the City Council approved the first adjustment to Encinitas' fees in 11 years, which brought increases ranging from 13 percent to 52 percent. The increase would recover the costs of providing building and plan-check services,...'I was under the impression that working through the city attorney and (the Building Industry Association) that we had responded to all the concerns of Barratt,' Esgate said in his message. 'It shocks me that (Barratt) is filing the lawsuit again. If (Barratt officials) had concerns, they should have responded at the time (the city) was adopting the fees.'"...
Last modified Tuesday, June 20, 2006 1:20 AM PDT

October 12, 2006

Rockford,IL. -"The village board approved a developer’s plans for Caledonia Crossings subdivision Thursday, a move that made some members of a hostile crowd say the board sold the village out...The board voted 4-2 to approve an agreement that would pave the way for about 370 homes and commercial development to come to this village of 200. But a dozen amendments, including higher impact fees than what the developer was proposing, made some question what would happen next...Developer Jim Bassett, a representative of Centex Homes (CTX) and attorneys representing the developer declined to comment after the nearly 90-minute meeting...The controversial vote is the latest twist in a two-year ordeal that has pitted residents and those living near the village against developer Bassett who more than two years ago proposed Caledonia Crossings on 198 acres west of Caledonia Road and south of Illinois 173...Many residents were outraged by the decision. A crowd of about 80 people packed the North Boone Rural Fire District No. 3 station late Thursday, most staunchly against the proposal and carrying signs of protest...Of the five trustees, Garrett Havens, Jeff Nye and Teresa Hunt, voted yes, while Jack Nicholson and Blaney voted no. Village President Sue Siek also voted yes."
Published: May 12, 2006